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SPEAK UP January 14 2009 Los Angeles
Almost simultaneously, Los Angeles and New York City released campaigns that delve into their known and unknown treasures. LA is doing it through a "That's So LA" advertising push that involves people like Kobe Bryant, Lauren Conrad, and Tom Hanks. Through these personalities, it's conveyed that dreams do come true in the city of angels. The accompanying website, discoverlosangeles.com, claims to be the official guide to the city for both visitors and veterans.
Venice Beach is recommended for people watching, North Hollywood Arts District for theater, CASA for contemporary Mexican eats, and the Grove for celebrity shopping. Personally, I hated how the editors discovered Los Angeles. And this is where NYC wins.
Through a New York Times editorial, NYC is depicted through its people. Every week the publication takes one New Yorker's story. Their passions, their rants, their obessions, their routines.
Since its launch, I've learned about Joel Karp who has owned a corner drugstore for twenty something years and Freda Degannes who has a rare blood disorder and takes odd jobs for survival. It's all very real. When I first visited there, I did the touristy thing which basically meant shopping in Soho and watching Broadway shows. I've vowed to return and learn the city differently, hoping to discover at least one of 8 million stories.
People in LA have things to say, too. It's worth it to go beneath the pretentious bullshit and see the rich diversity through pissed off drivers, hustling immigrants, overshadowed mom and pop establishment owners, rebellious private school kids, neighborhood stoops, waiters that are actors, screenwriters that write their best work at Starbucks, et al. Maybe it's just me, but THAT's so LA.
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